Long road trips with a car full of people can be a challenge, especially with kids and an occasional pet all clamoring for attention! Make the trip (and any holiday traffic jams) more bearable with these family-friendly audiobooks. As an adult who frequently reads youth books, here are a few suggestions. Some are from my favorites and some are new-to-me reads that kept my attention!
Feel free to add more recommendations that have worked for your family in the comment section below.
Geronimo Stilton Books 1-3 by Elisabetta Dami.
Recommended for ages 6+
Summary: Originally published in Italy, this series follows Geronimo and his family and friends as they find treasure, solve mysteries, and track down villains!
Why I liked it: There are a lot of good things going for this audiobook. First, there are 3 books in this one set, and each story only runs about an hour on average. This makes the stories bearable for younger attention spans. The mystery in each book keeps things interesting for adults and narrator Edward Herrman does a fantastic job with his range of voices. I am a Gilmore Girls fan, so I was excited to hear his voice after pressing the play button!
The Dear America Series by various authors.
Check individual books for age recommendations.
Summary: There are several books in this Historical Fiction series, and each book is written in diary form from the point of view of a young female character. Each book takes place during a different time period in American history.
Why I like it: The books in this series are well researched and hit on several difficult times in our nation’s history. The audiobooks were all well narrated by young girls and from an honest point of view. These audiobooks hit on topics that are still relevant today and might be good discussion starters. My favorites were Like the Willow Tree, The Fences Between Us, and With the Might of Angels. Many of the books in the series are also available on our e-audiobook apps.
Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Series.
Recommended for ages 8+
Summary: Both of these series follow amateur sleuths as they solve a new mystery in each book. The main characters hunt for clues, follow leads, and track down answers with each turn of the page.
Why I like it: These books bring back the memories of those good ol’ library days! The stories are authentic, believable, and both Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys are written as genuine characters. Both series are narrated to perfection, especially with Nancy voiced by Laura Linney. Both series feature sound effects and music to add tension to the storytelling!
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleishman
Recommended for ages 8+
Summary: Young Jack and his butler Praiseworthy head out for the gold fields to make their fortune in this classic story! Follow their trials and tribulations, and try to guess how they will get out of each predicament!
Why I like it: This story is a nitty gritty adventure during the Gold Rush. It was narrated by several voice actors, so there were no awkward voices used to define the younger characters played by adults. As an adult listener, I have little patience for whiny or cartoon-y type voice acting. The problem solving in this book was also very clever. Anytime our characters got out of a scrape, I was unable to guess how they would do it! That is a plus for me. Another plus is this book is available on Hoopla, one of the Library’s digital apps. It was very easy to stream the story from my phone to my car. I didn’t have to change a disk during my commute.
Here are a few honorable mentions! For one reason or another, these books did not make the big list, but are worth mentioning!
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner is a classic book that most of us are familiar with! The story is interesting, the siblings get along almost too well, and the villain turns out to be a big softie in the end. I had a hard time finding a version that did not have cartoon-y voices for the younger children, but this might not be a pet peeve for other listeners.
How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell was completely different from the movie, which made it super exciting to listen too. As a fan of the movie, I was excited to hear this book come to life since it is narrated by David Tennant of Dr. Who fame. Tennant does a great job with the strong Viking character accents, but my problem was with the volume of the audiobook. His volume would fluctuate from whispering one minute to bellowing the next. It was hard to control the volume while I was driving alone. This might not be an issue for people driving as a group!
The Spiderwick Chronicles by Toni Diterlizzi and Holly Black is an interesting fantasy adventure narrated by Mark Hamill from the Star Wars movies! The fantasy creatures were unique and I love the movie, but this audiobook was so fast-paced that it might be hard for younger people to keep up!
